We present three strategies to replace the null hypothesis statistical significance testing approach in psychological research: (1) visual representation of cognitive processes and predictions, (2) visual representation of data distributions and choice of the appropriate distribution for analysis, and (3) model comparison. The three strategies…

Males outperform females in the Mental Rotation Test (MRT) for biological, strategic and cultural reasons. The present research tested a motivational explanation with the hypothesis that females could do better when induced to have positive beliefs and expectations. All-female and all-male samples were divided into six groups, each having listened…

In Robbins, R. & McKone, E. (2006). No face-like processing for object-of-expertise in three behavioural tasks. "Cognition" this issue, we showed face-like holistic/configural processing does not occur for objects-of-expertise on standard paradigms including inversion, part-whole, part-in-configurally-transformed-whole, and the standard composite…

On the basis of a review of the literature and the results of three experiments with dog experts, Robbins and McKone [Robbins, R. A., & McKone, E. (2006). No face-like processing for objects-of-expertise in three behavioural tasks, "Cognition"] argue that there is little or no evidence supporting an expertise account of the differences in…

Applying Bloch's law to visual word recognition research, both exposure duration of the prime and its luminance determine the prime's overall energy, and consequently determine the size of the priming effect. Nevertheless, experimenters using fast-priming paradigms traditionally focus only on the SOA between prime and target to reflect the…

Confidence intervals are beginning to play an increasing role in the reporting of research findings within the social and behavioral sciences and, consequently, are becoming more prevalent in beginning classes in statistics and research methods. Confidence intervals are an attractive means of conveying experimental results, as they contain a…

In this research subjects are asked to justify three common erroneous solutions and the correct solution, all of which purport to be the "correct solution". It was predicted that the subjects would give reasons supporting any given solution, and indicate a high degree of confidence in the correctness of their justifications. (Author/RK)

Suggests that there exists a "finite" number of elementary concepts and distinguishable modes of thinking, that all human beings tend to acquire the same set of elements of thinking and the same strategies with which to understand and control their physical environment, and that the method of analysis used here is a standard scientific method.…

This research examines separately the cognitive and pharmacological effects of alcohol by manipulating subjects' expectancies. It was found that although alcohol is a pharmacologic sedative and reduces anxiety, the cognition that one is drinking alcohol increases anxiety. (Editor/RK)

Three postulates are proposed concerning the manner in which persons infer the validity of propositions that do not necessarily follow logically from the information available. Implications of the proposed postulates for existing formulations of social inference and cognitive organization are discussed. (Editor/RK)

Considers the hypothesis that thought results in the "reinterpretation" of inconsistent beliefs so as to make them more consistent with the initial attitude direction. The resulting cognitions, being more univocal would, in turn, produce attitude polarization. (Author/RK)

Investigates several hypothesized relationships between Kohlberg's three levels of moral judgment and personality processes measured by selected scales of the MMPI. (Author/RK)

Recent research has suggested that outcome feedback is not the optimal form of feedback for learning complex interference tasks. The present experiment was designed to test the effects of outcome feedback against cognitively oriented feedback in a number of linear tasks. (Editor)

The objective assessment of thought disorder in schizophrenia is problematic in clinical psychology. Recently, an individually administered instrument (WIST) was introduced as a brief, objective, and quantitative measure of schizophrenic thought processes. Possible shortcomings of the WIST are noted; experimental findings that concern extension to…